


Bittersweet

by Meg97



Series: Kingdom Hearts Drabble Prompts. [8]
Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-21
Updated: 2016-07-21
Packaged: 2018-07-25 21:57:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 553
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7548643
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Meg97/pseuds/Meg97
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The best things in life are sweet.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bittersweet

The best things in life are sweet.  
Or, perhaps the more accurate word for it would be ‘bitter-sweet’.  
They bring him joy in that they exist, but there’s also the constant reminder that, one day, they might not - it encourages him to always do his best to be strong, to protect them to the best of his ability.  
Riku has had a very long time, many hard experiences, to learn this for himself.

It’s now, as he’s staring at the Door he’d once fantasised over, practically boring a hole into the wood that had only once ever shown a Keyhole, that he’s able to contemplate such things.  
He knows well that this place will always send shivers down his spine - for many reasons - and the prickling feeling that makes the hair on the back of his neck stand up will probably never go away; but with the War over, he now has the time to think it all over.

Teal hues shift from the Door to the drawings on the walls, hands stuffed into his pockets to protect from the cold wind biting at his skin, drawn in from the hole Sora had once thought was a monster - it’s still making that howling sound, during the late hours of the night, when the temperature has dropped but the humidity has not.

Pale lips are pursed, just slightly, not so much out of frustration but out of habit; and he diverts his gaze from the drawings to let them settle up toward the sky, which he can barely see through the gap where the wind blows.

The stars aren’t visible, but he can imagine them there - sparkling bright as they usually do, signalling Worlds Riku’s been to, some he hasn’t - and slowly, quietly, he allows his eyes to close, head tilted toward them.

Somehow, having his eyes closed also allows him to take in everything all the more; the soft breeze in his hair, tickling his jaw, the pure sound of silence that he hasn’t heard in a very, very long time - as well as how his feet cause a slight stirring of the sand under them, the washing waves echoing on the wind.

This is home; and he will never take that for granted again.

He starts, though perhaps unnoticeably, at fingers intertwining with his own at his left side, and pale digits twitch slightly in response; the ones holding his are warm, he knows they’re tanned, and perhaps as calloused as his own from the War. And yet that doesn’t really matter, not to them - they’ve been through far too much to have appearances mean a whole lot.  
He’d known Sora was coming, he could sense it in the breeze; the slight tint of cinnamon embedded in the tang of the ocean, and the start he gave was just a bit of recognition.  
His eyes didn’t open, not for the longest time; but they’d all grown and matured through all of this.

This, too, in a way, was home.

Even under his eyelids he could imagine startling sapphire orbs, flashing with joy and, occasionally, a seriousness he found he adored- it was surprising, yes, but it was good in it’s own sense.  
The Islands were home, most certainly - but home could be found in people, too.

“It’s good to be home.”

“Yeah.”


End file.
